The Boulder County Communications Center received a call on August 18 at 1:50 p.m. regarding a structure fire in the 11,000 block of Lookout Road in unincorporated Boulder County. The fire fully engulfed a pool house, which was unoccupied at the time.
According to the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO), after the arrival of first responders, the residence on the property was evacuated due to proximity to the fire. The fire spread to surrounding grass and started moving toward the property line, and animals in the pasture on the property and pets were evacuated. A few neighboring properties were evacuated as a precaution and Lookout Road was closed to traffic.
Responding fire agencies included the BCSO, Mountain View Fire Rescue, Boulder Rural Fire Rescue, Erie Police Department, Hygiene Fire Department, Lafayette Fire Department, Lafayette Police Department, Lefthand Fire, and Louisville Fire Protection District. The agencies extinguished the fire before it impacted the residence or spread to a neighboring property. There were no injuries to people or animals reported in this incident, according to the BCSO.
“The property owner, Todd Berkebile, said that he had been burning excess wood in a pit located inside of the pool house structure,” the BCSO said in a press release. “He was served with a Felony Summons for 4th Degree Arson, due to the unsafe location of the fire and the proximity the associated grass fire came to a neighboring property.”
Lookout Road reopened to traffic around 4:15 p.m. on August 18.
